Will Of Fire
by hookedonsasusaku
Summary: Post-war. Sasuke died saving the village, and Sakura is unltimately devastated. As a cold-hearted bounty hunter, what will she do to possibly resurrect the only man she's ever loved? SASUSAKU, lemony deliciousness later on!


_Will of Fire_

Chapter one: The aftermath

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**_The sound of explosions cracked the sky like broken glass. Clashing katanas pierced the night air with every shinobi quickly climbing to their climax as the war raged on. I hadn't seen any sign of Naruto, Hinata, Sai or any of the others for quite some time. The latest news was of Neji's death, and it hit me stone hard, but I was ordered to keep focus on my medic tasks as ten patients arrived to replace every one patient we treated._**

**_I was exhausted, over exerting my chakra limit by far. As they hauled in one more patient, I tried to catch my breath, sweat dripping from the tip of my nose as I panted and gripped the sheets on the cot for support, dangerously close to losing consciousness. They carried in a large body covered in a white sheet, meaning the shinobi was gone. They laid him with the others off to the side as my next patient was being gently set onto the medic cot._**

**_The white sheet slightly slipped off of the head of the deceased. Spiked raven hair peaked out._**

**_"It can't be…" I tried to convince myself. My heart started racing. Losing my train of thought I stared at that body, leaving my patient screaming in pain, it all came in as mumbles to me._**

**_I mustered up the strength to get up off my knees and shuffle to the pile of bodies, only to sink back down on them when I approached the particular body. My hands trembled, and I reached for it. Coated in dirt, gravel and blood were my fingers when I ran them through the hair, my whole body was beginning to shake uncontrollably. I couldn't stop the tears burning my eyes any longer, and I ripped the sheet off to reveal a familiar face._**

**_"SASUKE!"_**

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"SASUKE!" I screamed and sat straight up in my bed in a cold sweat. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. All I could do was tremble in tears.

The war has been over for a year. With Konoha in peace at last, I couldn't understand why this nightmare haunted me every night without fail. Visions of the broken shinobi, and lost friends that I dearly miss replay over and over to the point I can no longer function in normal society. I've been refusing to participate in everyday activities, nothing interested me anymore.. There was no joy in life after the war, ironic as it sounds.

The sun rays breached over the tree tops and I heard a few birds singing their morning song. I pulled a large T-shirt over my head that was thrown on the empty side of the bed and pulled sweat pants on that were lying on the floor. I tried to pull myself together and wipe the sweat from my forehead, but the chilling memories were vivid and omnipresent.

Today would be just like any other; I would shower, put my gear on and head out on another bounty hunt. After the war it was decided that some form of regular police was necessary, and I jumped at the chance to fly solo. I took the dead or alive cases, and completed them without fail.

I grew my hair out to my mid back, remembering how I only did that as a kid to impress him. Now I did it as a lure. My uniform was tight fitting and flattered my every curve. At the age of 18, I'm a full 36C cup, 22 inch waist and 36 inch rear. I guess it helps when your victim would rather try to fuck you than hurt you. I pulled my long pink locks into a tight ponytail and stared at myself in the full length mirror on my pale blue wall. My ANBU uniform was cut to short black shorts where my ass pretty much hung out, fish netting on my legs and a tight white top underneath black armor that reached just above my belly button. I wrapped my arms in black and white tape to cover the scars and pulled on my black combat boots and black gloves.

My eyes were dead and soulless. I can't even remember the last time I smiled. But never mind that, I have shit to do.

"Ah, my emo apprentice, glad you're here." Tsunade-sama thumbed through a file inventively, her golden eyes darted up at me every now and then as I waited patiently for her to continue. After a moment she closed the file and threw it on her, messy as always, desk. "I have something rather interesting that I would like you to look into. A traveling gypsy is requesting assistance from our finest agent on a confidential matter. Don't ask me what it is… she came in the other day rambling under her breath angrily about something, placed her request and said it was so classified that not even the Hokage could know if I wasn't personally handling it."

I cocked an eyebrow at my sensei. "That confidential?" I mused.

She nodded. "I am entrusting it to you, knowing that you can handle yourself and this psycho if needed. She wants to meet by the village entrance at dusk."

"Hai." I turned to leave, rolling my eyes. _"Another fucking weirdo."_ Inner Sakura grumbled.

"Sakura" I peered back at Yodame before exiting, "Be cautious. Gypsy's are a strange species of people. You never know what this lady's intentions are."

I smirked, rolled my jade eyes and left.

Dusk wasn't for hours; training seemed like the best way to pass the time.

After the war all of my skills improved immensely. I was stronger, faster and smarter. Not to mention my jutsu was known to be some of the finest. I was a spitting image of Yodaime, only better.

I leaped into the air and brought my clenched fist back behind my head.

"HELL YEAH!" I roared as I crashed into the ground, barely missing my clone and obliterating everything around my fist. The ground rumbled and cracked, mini mountains formed in a straight line where plates were shifted from impact. My clone chuckled and attempted to land a kick on the back of my head, only for me to turn around and grab her ankle, swinging her around and launching her through the trees. She crashed into a large oak and sank to the ground, vanishing into a puff of smoke.

I plopped on the ground, panting and sweating like a fucking pig as I looked around at the destroyed training site. I judged the quality of my work out by the damage I left when I was done, and I improved each time. I smiled to myself and lay on my back, looking at the sun starting to set. It was almost time for the next mission. I got my fine ass up and headed home for a quick cold shower and got changed, I packed all my supplies and left.

The gypsy waited just as she said. She wore a long crimson skirt with a slit on the side, a white belly shirt. She was covered in jewels and beads everywhere else. She was young, pale skin and silky dark hair and eyes surrounded by long lashes. She wore a particularly interesting jewel on her forehead. It looked like a ruby and was crafted beautifully. Her eyes fixed on me as I approached.

"Ah, right on time." She smiled cheerfully, though there was a tone to her voice I didn't like. It oozed of a hidden agenda, but I proceeded.

"My name is Sakura, I will complete your task without fail as Hokage has assured you. Though I must ask what my reward will be, since you refused to disclose that information to her as well."

She closed her eyes and chuckled before answering my question, "A life for a life. That is all I will say. However, I foresaw that you would be the one to free me of this burden." Inside I felt my gut twitch. Something was definitely off about this bitch.

"Who am I hunting? How long do I have? Dead or alive?"

"Akio-Lee of the village hidden in the snow. You have 10 days to bring him back to me ALIVE at this location."

She pulled out a folded map and handed it to me warily.

"Failure to complete this mission will result in your lost love, remaining lost. Do you understand?"

Her words hit me like a brick. _"Lost love?"_ Inner Sakura questioned._ "A life for a life… could she mean?"_

"It will be done."

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**Author's Note:**

**Hello everyone! It is kind of a slow beginning, kind of dark and depressing, but I promise it will pick up! Hope you like it so far!**

**I'm following the manga and Sasuke decided to save the village :') I was SOOOO happy! I'm so stoked to see how the war ends, though I hope Sasuke is still living at that point... Even if he isn't in my story.. BUT, it barely started. **

**Please read and review and let me know what you think! (: xoxo**


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